Wedding Chores!

Our garage is FILLED with boxes full of mason jars and old vases from my grandma's house! We got A LOT of work to do cleaning windows, jars, vases, old furniture, etc. before the wedding! It's going to be CRAZY!

Wedding Invitations

The wedding is coming up REAL soon and, so far, the planning has been quite productive and FUN! Over Spring Break, John and I spent some time at my house in California and while we were there, we nailed down our venue and our photographer (matthewmorgan.net)...and ever since then, it seems like all of the other details have been falling in our laps! My mom has been a great help over these past two months. Since I am in Chicago, and she is the best at takin care of business, she has been talking to rental companies, caterers, going to garage sales, searching for amazing vintage finds from my grandma's house to online! Without her involved, this time of my life would be EXTREMELY stressful. With all that to say, I've been talking with Janice Myers (who will be doing our invitations!!), and we've been trying to figure out a hand drawn-looking floral design for our invitations. I've been giving her some ideas, and she has given some GREAT ideas back! Today I spent some time drawing what I think would look good at the bottom of our invitations. I would like some feedback, SO, let me know what you think about THIS look on an invitation!...I'm not gonna give you the full effect, so you can be surprised when you get one in the mail, but this is the idea that we may be goin for!


My fiancé. What a cutie!

Engagement: Brooke and Chad

I did an engagement shoot for the lovely couple, Brooke and Chad, about two weeks ago. The lighting was a bit hard to work with, and it was reaaaallll chilly, but we had some fun! Here are some pictures:

JSB 2010: GROUP SHOTS

Spring is slowly peaking its head out, and more and more people are asking me to take pictures! This is so exciting for me because I have been craving more and more experience behind the camera. I have an eye for photography, and I know my camera very well, I am just less plentiful in the experience department. BUT, coming up, I have some head shots to do, two engagement sessions, and some more portraits, all within the next few weeks! This is a confidence booster for sure! It also helps me organize in my head how I'm going to do this in the future after John and I get married. I haven't done a new post in a while, but John and I got engaged and we are to be married this August 7th! woooot!!! So excited! So if any of you want to visit our website, here is the link: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/johnrainey&jennafawcett and for now, here are some shots of a beautiful group of people.

XIV
Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like a usurpt town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your Viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you enthrall me never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

John Donne from Holy Sonnets

When looking at the general scheme of salvation, with the violence of the cross at the center, it seems that suffering and violence are a necessary means for redemption or salvation. When considering my own life, the experiences that have led me to the most profound realizations are those that include deep suffering. This is where I begin to understand the heart of God. The suffering that human beings experience is a glimpse into the misery that God went through when watching His only Son die upon the cross.
So why do we question God about the trouble and the violence in the world? God doesn’t turn His back on the world and let it destroy itself, but He weeps with us. Prior to this semester, the meaning and reasoning behind suffering was something I believed to be incomprehensible. And of course I am not saying that I completely understand the will and mind of God, but my perspective on the suffering I have experienced in this violent world has shifted. This realization can be something as piercing as the horns of the bull into Mrs. May’s heart in Greenleaf. Just as her perception of reality and existence was deformed and twisted, so too is the rest of humanity’s view of the world and God’s grace within it. But when the light of redemption comes into full view, or when one’s misconception is pierced, the crippled and humbled human can now have a glimpse into the heart of God.
It seems as though up to this point in my life, my view of suffering has been that of a time of testing for God to use against those who need to learn how to trust Him more. This I believe has still some truth to it, but suffering is much, much deeper than that. A deep and profound sense of pain, longing, and loss is something that we all deserve as a fallen race. It is the life that we lead. Whether we sign ourselves up to follow Christ or not, suffering and violence have a place in our lives and in the lives of the ones we love.
Estrangement leaves us to groan and plead for something that we have longed for since the day of creation (Romans 8:22-24), to be close to God, to be redeemed. Just as Adam and Eve fellowshipped with God, so too do we desire to have an intimate relationship with Him, to talk with Him and to walk with Him. But in this life on earth, through pain and suffering, the most beautiful venue of redemption comes from violence. As I yearn and desire to be more like God and to have a holy perspective on life, the flame of refinement grows hotter. In order to be more like God, there is a lot of imperfection that needs to be burnt off. This requires discipline, action, and suffering. And with an understanding grasp of suffering, one may be able to get a glimpse into the heart of God. So, “batter my heart, three-personed God…” (John Donne, Holy Sonnets), and continue you to throw me into the refining fire. Lead me to redemption through suffering and the misery you experienced on the cross, so that I can know Your heart.

O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.

unlocked doors

The first two images were taken in my hometown, San Clemente, CA. It's a beautiful place...home to President Nixon's "Western White House" actually (something I'm proud of). Anyway... I will be going home for Christmas break in about a week and a half, and I am looking forward to taking some pictures of this beauty. San Clemente was a great place to grow up. One of my favorite things about the place is, people don't really lock their doors. In the house that I grew up in, it would be dumb to lock the doors because the house is pretty much made of windows. BUT it's just a friendly place. All people do is water their yards, surf, and go on walks. Very different from the downtown life that I live in Chicago. I wouldn't even think twice about locking my doors in Chicago. Someday when I am trying to find a place to live, I wanna live somewhere where I don't have to lock my doors.